Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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257. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if her Department has applied for funding projects under the European Fund for Strategic Investments for support for SMEs or commercial enterprises; the projects that were approved for funding; the total funding allocated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22639/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is an initiative launched jointly by the EIB Group (European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund) and the European Commission to help overcome the current investment gap in the EU by mobilising private financing for strategic investments. EFSI is one of the three pillars of the Investment Plan for Europe that aims to revive investment in strategic projects around Europe to ensure that money reaches the real economy. EFSI has been integrated into the EIB Group and projects supported by EFSI are subject to the normal EIB project cycle and governance.

My Department has no direct role in securing funding from EFSI on behalf of SMEs or commercial enterprises.

EFSI has two specific windows: the SME Window and the Infrastructure & Innovation Window. The latter is managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) whilst the former is managed by the European Investment Fund (EIF), through financial intermediaries. Each Window has a ring-fenced budget.

Under the SME Window, SMEs and mid-caps seeking loans and equity capital under EFSI must contact EIF-approved financial intermediaries directly.

Such financial intermediaries are Financial, Credit & Guarantee Institutions, and Loan Funds established and operating in one or more of the EU Member States duly authorised to carry out lending/leasing activities to SMEs and Small Mid-Caps, as well as Fund management companies targeting SMEs and Small Mid-Caps. They apply to the EIF to become approved financial intermediaries and to secure EFSI financing, deployed through EIF.

Under the Infrastructure and Innovation Window, large corporates, special purpose vehicles or Midcap companies (with up to 3,000 employees) can apply directly to the EIB for project loans or loans to finance research and innovation. These loans have a minimum size of €25 million. Such projects undergo the standard EIB due diligence process, in order to verify their eligibility for EIB financing and for EFSI backing.